St. Albertans and Morinville residents will get a chance to stand up and be counted this year – twice.
Both St. Albert and Morinville are conducting municipal censuses this year. St. Albert conducts a city census usually every two years.
It’s also federal census year, which occurs every five years.
The St. Albert census is first up for enumeration.
Deputy city clerk Mary Nordvedt said the online portion will run between March 8 and March 28. Identification numbers will be mailed out March 4 to use online.
The hope is many residents will take the opportunity to complete the census online.
There was an online option during the 2014 St. Albert census, and more than 40 per cent of people completed the questions that way, she said. Responding online also means saving taxpayer dollars, as the more people who hit the web to submit their information means there is a need for fewer enumerators for less time.
Enumerators will be knocking on doors starting April 6 to May 1.
While it might seem counter-intuitive to run a city census the same year as a federal census, the 2016 federal census numbers won’t be available until 2017. That’s not soon enough to update population numbers with other levels of government, and many grants are based on population.
“It’s important to do both (censuses),” Nordvedt said. While some of the basic questions will overlap, the inquiries won’t all be the same.
The municipal census is not mandatory – the federal census is – but Nordvedt said responding does help the city decide on programming and services.
New this year for the St. Albert city census is a quality assurance program, which means some people might get a follow-up inquiry to ensure their information was recorded accurately.
In Morinville, the online portion of the census will begin April 1 through to May 15, and computers will be available at the Civic Hall and library for those who need access. Enumerators will be door knocking between May 1 and June 30.
Statistics Canada, which manages the federal census, is currently in recruitment mode for workers to help with its nationwide program.
Bonnie Holte, assistant director for the census for the prairies, said census letters will be mailed out May 2.
About 75 per cent of households will get the short form census, while 25 per cent will get the long-form questionnaire.
“We’ve been asked to again have the long form mandatory,” she said. During the last federal census the optional National Household Survey replaced the mandatory long form census.
Like the city, the hope is respondents to the federal census will choose to submit their information online.
“Online is our preference,” Holte said, noting a secure code will come with the census letter for use online.
For those who prefer to use paper forms, the census help line can help provide those, she said. There will also be enumerators heading door to door later this year.
Like Nordvedt, Holte said the census responses are important because they help paint a portrait of the makeup of the Canadian public.
